Move for Movember: Lazaridis School students grow their “mo’s” in support of men’s health

By John Fitzgerald, 3rd year BBA student and 2022 Movember Chair | Jan. 18, 2023

In Nov. 2022, the Lazaridis Students’ Society (LazSoc) at the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics  at Wilfrid Laurier University held our fourth annual Movember campaign in support of  Movember Canada.  A global charity, Movember encourages participants to “grow a mo” (moustache), get active and raise awareness for critical men’s health issues including prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health.

These issues disproportionately affect young men – some of whom are university students like us – so from the beginning we made it a point to get as many people involved as possible to help spread the word. With classes and extracurriculars resuming in person this term, we were excited for the opportunity to engage students in-person and set new goals for future Movember campaigns.

At the beginning of the month, our first initiative was launched on the LazSoc Instagram page. We created a  where I interviewed Lazaridis School students, staff, and Ivan Joseph, vice-president, student affairs at Wilfrid Laurier University to share their perceptions of the Movember campaign, why they believe conversations around men’s health are important, and their hopes for the future within the community.

Throughout the month, we hosted two in-person events. First was the annual Move for Movember tailgate, featuring a basketball tournament and tailgate games. A few weeks later, Sports Management and The LINK, two of the 26 LazSoc clubs, teamed up to host our annual Movember ball hockey tournament. Both events were very high spirits and had local vendors, concessions, activities, and some amazing prizes including Toronto Maple Leafs tickets.

The month was closed off with a fundraising bash, hosting students for popular board and card games and bidding on silent auction prizes. The energy from our supportive student community was unmatched. We would also like to thank the local vendors and corporate sponsors who provided donations that were used in our events.

Together, we raised more than $3,500  in this year’s campaign through event sales, community donations, and our silent auction. We are extremely proud to be able to make a significant contribution towards the foundation and look forward to continuing to raise awareness of this important issue throughout our community.